InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart Blood and Soul ❯ Why does it comfort you? ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10 -Why does it comfort you?-
Kaida pulled another flower from the ground and placed it in her basket. The sun made the field almost unbearably hot and she would have killed for air conditioning at that moment. The village had been plagued with an illness which she had helped cure. Looking up at the sound of her name she squinted her eyes, before seeing who it was, which brought a frown to her face.

The person that came now was not her favorite person, a young teen who had developed a crush on her in the short time of week. A tightlipped smile took over her face, replacing the frown, as she lifted the basket to her hip, brushing a fallen strand from her face, "Makoto, what are you doing so far from the village, especially at lunch time?"

He shrugged and sat down in front of her, "can't I just sit here and keep you company? As from lunch, I'm not really hungry."

Kaida wanted to roll her eyes but refrained and smiled again, "gomen, I didn't mean to question your motives but it was just strange."

"Nothing strange really. Besides there was a rumor of a pack of youkai traveling in this direction. They should be crossing around here soon and I didn't want you to be alone," he said pushing some grass aside.

"Not all youkai are bad, nor dangerous" Kaida answered absently picking another herb, "most youkai are actually not out to hurt humans. We merely want to be left alone, and to fight other youkai. Humans aren't worth it for the stronger ones."

Makoto looked at her strangely, "what do you mean 'we'? You're a human."

She paused in her gathering, "you must have heard wrong Makoto, but what I say is true, not all youkai are bad. Actually the only ones that attack humans are usually weak ones. Of course youkai are stronger than humans, even if they are weak by the standards of other youkai."

He sighed, "how would you know all this? You love a youkai or something?" he laughed heartily, "that's just nasty, humans loving youkai. It's bestiality."

A shiver ran up her spine as it straightened, her mind never hearing such hurtful words in this time, her other time yes, but not here, "are you saying you hate all youkai, no matter if you truly know them or not?" before he could even answer she turned, her eyes cold, "just shut up if the answer is yes."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Inuyasha shifted his hold on Kagome. She slept in his arms, like she had most of the time at hearing of the lose of Ryu's connection to Kaida. He refused to believe she was dead, Naraku couldn't have killed her, it would have torn him apart, physically if not mentally. Killing your mate was not something your mind could take, even if you were Naraku.

Ryu walked beside Shippo and Ookami, all in deep thought. Kouga and Tama walked behind, keeping an eye on Ookami and another looking for danger. Ookami was more in mourning than thought though. He still blamed himself, though Ryu's words stuck to him. He admitted it, he wanted to be selfish, he wanted her for himself, wanted to hold her as he was now, not as his future self. He loved her.

The scent first reached Inuyasha before passing over all of them, stopping them in their tracks. Shippo and Kouga looked at Inuyasha, knowing his reaction would not be good. He stood livid, staring ahead before handing Ryu Kagome and running off to the direction of the scent.

"Death," Tama whispered, "death and ash."

"Kikyo," Shippo translated.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful Kaida?"

Kaida blinked, looking at the boy sitting near by. He dare to speak to her after such a treatment? Was he really that dense? "Hai, my brothers and parents."

"Not them," he said getting up, "I mean people you care about. People who aren't blood related."

She looked into his eyes, not daring to back down as she processed that. No, no one had told her she was beautiful, Ookami never had to, and Naraku didn't count. "No, the only person that matters doesn't need to say it. The way he acts is enough."

"Who is this person?" he was stepping too close for her comfort and she knew that the clay body would not push him off.

"Does it matter?" she was wary, she might have to run if his eyes were any indication.

"Yes, because that person should have said it. You are very beautiful," he whispered, leaning into her.

"Well isn't this touching?" a cocky voice asked.

Both turned to the direction of Inuyasha, who at the moment was glaring daggers at Kaida. Makoto seeing he was a youkai, stepped in front of Kaida to protect her.

"Dad?" Kaida asked pushing Makoto to the side before running to Inuyasha only to stop from his glare, "what's the matter?"

"Why are you alive Kikyo?" he asked sadly, "I thought Kagome and I put you to rest. Can you not die? Did Naraku call you back?"

"No, dad it's me! Kaida! Naraku did this weird thing to my body. Yes Kikyo lives but she resides in my body. Rin and Sango helped me escape and I've been waiting for you, because I knew with the connection gone you would presume me dead."

Inuyasha looked her over slowly, "Naraku made you into a clay body? Why?"

"To give Kikyo a better body, who knows. I am free from him, I have my soul back. All but the part that Naraku controlled."

He nodded slowly, "I'll believe you. The others though, they are a different story. Get on my back," he said, knowing the true test that if this was really Kaida or not would come from Kagome, Ryu and Ookami. He could believe her, for now, "we'll see if Myouga has any other information on this type of mating," he turned to offer her his back, "I won't ask who the boy is, or what was going on."

Kaida shook her head as she lifted up the basket, holding it in one hand, trusting Inuyasha to carry her without any problems, "I need to give this to the village, it's the herbs I picked."

"You can do that after you convince six youkai that what they smell isn't really a dead person who's living again, but Kaida."

"I am Kaida," she said nestling her head in Inuyasha's shoulder.

He smiled slightly, he believed her, he truly did, but Naraku was not one to be under estimated. Naraku had magic that even Kagome was afraid to use, or could not use. He slid to a stop in front of his pack and the three wolves, each watching the girl they believed was no longer living tentatively. Kagome, who had woken up but was still being held by Ryu, motioned to be put down before she walked over to her mate and what her body told her was someone who was dead.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, trying to peek at the person hiding their face.

He nudged Kaida with his shoulder, indicating he wanted her to show her face but she shook her head. Kaida was afraid of the looks she would get, afraid of the rejection she would see in the faces of her brothers and friends, the mourning like she had seen in her father's face.

"Kaida, look up," Inuyasha coxed, the name alone earning a gasp from them all.

Ryu moved next to his father, never saying a word as he lifted his sister into his arms, carrying heron his side. She hid her face in his neck, "sis, is that you?" She nodded but still kept her face buried in his shoulder. "Kaida, look at me, please," he begged looking at Shippo for help.

Kagome wanted to step forward, but the hold Inuyasha had on her shoulder prevented that, "Kaida, is that really you?" she asked, wanting to believe her nose lied.

"Hai," she whispered into Ryu's shoulder, knowing they would hear it, "it's me."

"Then why do you hide? Aren't you happy to be back?" Kagome questioned, praying it wasn't Naraku.

"I don't want to see the looks of rejection in your eyes. I'm in a clay body, and dad already thought I was the reborn Kikyo, who lives in my body now."

Shippo repressed his laughter, "Kaida, is that you fear, if you were Kikyo you would have tried to take Inuyasha to hell with you. The hate for him is the part of Kag-mama's soul that was taken."

"You're wrong Shippo, to make the Kikyo's soul he used kaa-san's hate for everyone, that part was minimal, but it was there. He also extracted the memories of Kikyo, which she has in her soul because she is the reincarnation of Kikyo. He took from me the part of my soul he controlled, which is why I am now free," she took a breathe from her explanation, "I am Kaida, believe me. I know Naraku, more than any of you, and he wanted Kikyo all along. He could not let go of his love for her. He had the power to bring her back from the dead, he would not let her slip through his fingers again."

Ryu urged her face up, looking her in the eye, "Kaida, we want to believe, and I am so close to saying I do believe you, but Naraku could have done this, and you very well know this. Even if you think you are you, Naraku could have done something, so he'd still have control over you."

All nodded in agreement, "we're sorry Kaida-chan," Tama said, "but we can not have Naraku minions amongst us. What is something that Kaida knows and shares, that Naraku does not, that way there will be no confusion, or fear of it occurring. We do not to be betrayed, or even risk it, you understand right?"

Kaida nodded, semi-relived that is all they asked of her, none of the eyes holding fear or rejection, "though, I'm sure it would benefit you all if kaa-san put up a barrier around my natural scent so only the scent Naraku placed in me so he could withstand the scent of dirt and ash can be smelled."

Kagome smiled and agreed, "but first to prove you are you, again it's not that we don't trust you, but Naraku is."

"It's alright mother, I understand, just ask the question," she said motioning for them to ask away.

They moved together, feeling as if they were betraying her in not trusting what she said, but knowing nothing could be put past Naraku. <I can not stress that enough! So if someone asks I will kill them, not literally, but I will be mad?>

Ookami did not join them in finding the perfect question, he already knew it. He advanced Kaida, pulling her chin up to look at him, "pretty short aren't we?" he asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Ookami," she whispered, smiling at him, "why aren't you with them?"

"I already know the perfect question, which only you'll be able to answer," he whispered back, not wanting the audience of the others, but knowing Ryu was watching which would draws the others before he finished. At her nod to continue he interlocked a set of their fingers, "tell me, why does my scent comfort you?"

She sat silent for awhile, the question that spawned their fight, the reason why Naraku took over her mind. Was he asking to start a fight, or did he want to show how much he had changed, "you smell like you use to."

"Besides that," he urged, "I want the real reason."

She sighed, "you smell like the forest, and since I grew up in a shrine, where Inuyasha's forest use to lay, I played there as a child. It's where I relaxed before any of this stuff happened, before Naraku, before Ookami-niichan," she paused, "you always seemed to calm me better though, Ookami-niichan, he had miasma in his scent, eating him away, and lots of sorrow. You though, you were care free and happy. Something I always liked, something that made me want to live," she smiled, "that's why your scent comforts me."

Ookami smiled again, knowing his next move would make him lose his head by more than one person but he was too happy. He kissed her, chaste and subtle, it took her breathe away, "welcome back Kaida."

Her eyes widened as she resisted the urge to either slap the grin that was slowly spreading off his face or pull him down for another kiss, "why you," she hissed before he was knocked out of the way in favor for Ryu and Shippo who tackled her to the ground.

Kagome went over to her two sons and whistled, making all of them cover their ears, and drawing a bitch from Inuyasha's throat, "you two, if you don't get off her, then I can't block off the scent of ash and what not," she smiled as the grudgingly rose before enveloping her daughter in a hug, "I thought I had lost you," she whispered.

Kaida blushed, "don't worry mom, I'm alive, I'm not going anywhere."

Kagome sighed, smiling, encircling them in a light of miko energy, "you better not." She pulled away, the scent of ash and death gone, hidden behind the miko energy.

Ryu smirked and then again launched himself at her, knocking them both ot the ground, but he helped support her back, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too Ryu. Hopefully you didn't hurt anyone, too badly."

He sighed and sat up on his haunches, "well see," he was cut off.

"Kaida, didn't you say you needed to get that to the village you were staying at?" Inuyasha asked, looking over at his two pups as he lifted Kagome on his back.

She nodded, "Ryu, could you?"

Before she could finish he lifted her onto his back and set off with Shippo and Ookami following him, while he followed Inuyasha. She rested her head on his back while watching Ookami run beside Ryu. He didn't look at her because he was running so fast but he could tell she was looking at him and it made him smile.

Inuyasha slid to a stop as did the others as he set his mate on the ground, "Kaida, lead the way."

She nodded lifting the basket higher on her hip, as she walked the rest of the path to the village. Almost all movement stopped as everyone watched who entered the village. They moved away almost by instinct and fear as Kaida walked with her head held high, looking straight at jii-chan and Kaede as they exited their hut with Makoto.

"What brings you here?" jii-chan asked, "Kaida why do you bring youkai into this dwelling?"

Kagome stepped forward, not trusting anyone but Kaida to speak and even then she didn't trust her that much. "We merely were searching for a member of our pack. We have found her and have to pass through here to deliver you this basket of herbs and to go on our way. We will be out of here before sunset."

Jii-chan looked at them, "and what does Kaida have to do with this?"

Makoto not being to hold in his rage anymore shouted, "she's a youkai no doubt. Somehow she has hidden the fact that she is one of those filthy things."

Kaida fell beck at the intensity of the words hitting her, the basket falling from her hands before she was stopped by Ookami's body, Ryu and Shippo falling on both sides of the two as Kouga and Tama fell back farther, giving them more space since no one would go close to the pack gathered in the center of town.

"So you are youkai are you Kaida?" jii-chan asked looking her over, "and this is your pack, the family you were searching for?"

She nodded wary of what he would say to her being youkai and never telling them. Ookami tightened his grip on her as the growling that she hadn't noticed coming off of Ryu and Shippo intensified.

Makoto sneered stupidly unafraid of the youkai and hanyou he saw before him, "you knew we would treat like the scum you are. And most of your pack as ears of hanyou, as I said before, bestiality. Where's the human, you kill them or did they kill themselves after being tainted with the blood of a youkai?"

Kaida started growling, softly seeing as she was human before Kagome approached Makoto, ignoring everything but his face. She arched her hand up quickly when she stepped in front of him, seeing as he did not move back and slapped across the cheek, her eyes seeping red. Before he fell back to the ground due to the sheer force of her blow she caught the front of his kimono, and pulled him to look her in the eye.

"Ignorant human! I can't believe I was even proud to call myself one, even though species or blood had no matter to me, stupidity still is supreme," she hissed, her fangs showing.

Makoto growled as well, "so you're the human who enjoys bestiality? You disgrace us all. You just bring more of your disgusting kind into the world! Get out of our village, get out of our forest, and take your heathen children with you!"

Kagome raised her claws, her mind beyond reason, "stop!" Kaede called, "he is nothing but an ignorant child himself! We mean ye no disrespect. Killing him would prove his words! Do not do so, his parents were killed by youkai, you can not blame him for the hate of them."

"So if they were human would it change the emotion and hate? Why is when youkai kill a human it is wrong and when a human is lucky enough to kill a youkai by itself that human is hunted, but youkai killing youkai and human killing human is acceptable? Why is that? All hate is stupid!" Kagome growled, "one who starts out thinking with hate will only let it evolve, he should be stopped now."

Jii-chan took a step back but Kaede stood her ground, "do not let your anger guide you. He has insulted your family true, and for that he deserves punished but not by death, for he can not suffer for the words he has spoken. Please, ye may rest here for the night, if anyone else bothers you, then we shall deal death out as punishment. Ye must be tired from all your journeying to find Kaida. Follow me," Kaede said turning and walking to her hut.

"Kaede you can't be serious?" jii-chan called after her.

She paused, "after the disrespect they were just shown by a boy we helped raised we must do so. They could kill us all but they do not, they are not bad, and Kaida has been nothing but sweet," she turned, "and if you argue you may sleep in the stalls I really don't care, but they will be in our hut tonight."

Inuyasha touched Kagome's shoulder and nodded for her to put Makoto down, which she did with some reluctance. Makoto dropped and stood with the little dignity he had left, his eyes landing on someone he thought he thought he could love, Kaida.

She lay wrapped in a youkai's arms with two more, all three male, looming over her. And she didn't fear them, she didn't see the wrongness of it all. He watched as the two that weren't holding Kaida left to Kaede's house, leaving the youkai and her alone with him watching.

They did nothing though, nothing he saw that proved she was that youkai's. They didn't embrace like lost lovers, she just leaned content against him, his chin on her head with his eyes closed. And the picture it made disgusted him. How long they stood there was only a short time, but he watched each movement as he held Kaida with care before his eyes opened with a glint and he lifted her bridal style in the blink of an eye, a feral grin crossing his face at her delighted laugh.

She didn't fight him for long, and didn't yell loudly as you were suppose to when you are attacked by someone, merely laid against him and as they passed and stood at the door, as if they were doing it for some sadistic joke he would never find the humor in; all Makoto heard was, "I'm not a little girl anymore Ookami."

"I know, but I like to baby you. Until I have a little girl of my own that is."

"You'll have one, the person who turns you away would have to be a fool," Kaida whispered, kissing Ookami's cheek. Making one man's heart grow with hope and another's break like glass.

End chapter

That got long, extremely quick, suddenly it went from 3 to 7 pages in the course of like 1 hour. And then it kept growing to 10 pages! No Makoto will not have any sort of revenge, that I'm planning on, that would have no point to the story since they leave never to be seen again, but you never know. Sesshy reappears next chapter and if his drama isn't enough I guess I'll have to settle for that sort of drama as back up, or if anyone just wants to see Makoto get yelled at, though I don't think I set it up to do that.